Why Jesus is so hard to get to know…
Dec 29th, 2011 by ljkim
Many people say, “I ‘get’ Paul and John and Peter… And I love reading [insert favorite Christian author]…but Jesus Himself is so…abstract.” Of course there are also many less-thoughtful Christians who “like to think” of Jesus as their best friend from High School, or as Obi Wan Kenobi, or their favorite famous Christians – or some other image they picked up – and they have trouble reconciling their version of Jesus with the one in the Bible. Now if you’re in the first group, and you really want to know why Jesus is hard for you to get to know – and how you can break past that barrier continue reading. For the rest of you, I know you might be curious – but wait till you really want to know, otherwise what I’ve learned about this just might discourage you instead of helping you… Continue Reading »
Instead of buying ever pricier toys, or ever more elaborate and exotic vacations how about taking all that time and energy to design a great life instead? A life that’s so good you won’t ever “need” a vacation. A life that’s so good, so meaningful and comfortable that other people WANT to be in your life… to share in your world because you really know how to live. And I guarantee that if you have a happier life you will do better at work, find a better job, do better at personal goals like weight loss or getting fit, or saving money, etc. Why? The reason why we often fail at these things is because we’re not “happy” enough at the core – so we wind up using other things (food, vacations, toys, etc) to make ourselves feel better… So instead of chasing after temporary relief – let’s get our lives in order… How do you do that? Here are ten personal suggestions – take and use what makes sense to you… 
Recent studies suggest that you should never tell children they’re “smart.” Instead you should complement them for “working hard” or “overcoming obstacles” and things like that… Because if you tell people they’re smart, they’ll avoid doing things they’re afraid they won’t be good at. Which is a problem, since the way you get good at things is by being bad at it first, yet persisting and getting better… One of the things that Jesus’ teaching set ME free from is the fear of being bad at things. Whereas before (because of pride) I had to be good at something to enjoy it, now it’s different. If my sense of worth doesn’t come from what I do (but from God’s gift of “righteousness”), I’m free to enjoy things I suck at… and I get to learn (and get good at) new things on a regular basis… 
You can always check the right hand margin of this page for the time and location of our Sunday Meeting… But just to bring home the point: we’re back at our old space on 18th Street!
When I have important days, important events, I like to plan things so that everything is settled and organized…but reading the birth narratives reminds me how messy it all was… unwed single mother – forced to travel – no place to stay, gives birth outdoors and puts the baby in a manger. I like things “neat” because it gives me the illusion that I’m in control – but I guess God likes allowing chaos because it proves to me I’m not. Lesson #5, God is fine with chaos. If your life is messy, it’s not because God isn’t working…it’s an opportunity to trust Him to be in control of the big picture, while you try to be faithful with your part. 
This is the seasons of lists and resolutions – so in line with the spirit of the season, here’s my top ten list (otherwise known as the Ten Commandments):
Christmas is about Jesus, remembering His birth…even though he was NOT born Dec 25… So if it’s all about Jesus, then what’s the pine tree all about? Did they have pine trees in Bethlehem? And what about the guy in the red suit? reindeer? The problem is Christmas is not about Jesus at all: it’s about gifts and family traditions, snowflakes and mistletoe (which were not present where Jesus was born). This is a serious problem. On the one hand our Christmas is a travesty: a birthday party in which the birthday boy is not really invited. On the other hand, it’s something that means a lot to a lot of people, it’s filled with warm memories and good wholesome traditions. So what do we do? 
There’s a part where Paul says he wants women in the church (but this applies to men too) to be modest in their outward appearance, adorning themselves with “good works” rather than the latest hairstyles and expensive clothing. I understand that we read that in the worst possible way – there have been plenty of fuddy duddy’s who for some dumb reasons don’t like nice things… But I don’t think that’s what Paul was doing. Because, I happen to know a few women, who can be beautiful without makeup, and glamorous without expensive clothing. A person’s character can make them look like a million bucks! And all the made-up people with expensive shoes look frivolous standing next to them. They have the real beauty that expensive clothes tries to make up for… If that’s the case, no wonder Paul thinks people should seek for the real thing instead. 
Here’s something I’m working on… just because Jesus asked me to, and because he’s right as usual that this way of life is better: living in the moment. ”Do not be anxious about tomorrow…” Dogs, for instance, are remarkably “in the moment.” They’re not pissed off because of what something smelled like yesterday, and they’re not stressed out about their walk tomorrow, they’re here now. Young children are often like that too – which is why they laugh more than older people. I can have a perfectly good day – be well fed, well loved, at ease – and yet be all wrapped up because of something I need to do tomorrow. This is dumb because even if what I’m stressed about is as bad as I think – I suffer through it multiple times by worrying about it in advance…